Treats for administering medicine

[go-qoli-gwej]

Do you have any tried and true "foolproof" treats for administering medicine to a hen without an appetite? It is my preferred way to give any medicine when possible, but one of my girls in particular is pretty picky about what treats she's concerned with when she isn't feeling well. Just wondering if anyone has a go-to.

 

[GodLovesU]

I would try egg yolk. I used it for a baby quail.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Try making a "mash" using the hen's regular feed and mushing it up with hot water. Add the medication to one bite of the mash and offer it to her...even if she just picks at it, she might be able to get one bite in and therefore eat the whole dose of meds

 

[StinkyAcres]

IF I need to put meds in a treat I usually use plain Greek yogurt. But I prefer popping pills in their mouths or syringe feeding liquids so I can be sure they're getting all the meds.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What medicine are you trying to administer, and is it a pill or a liquid?

 

[Eggcessive]

Some medicines taste very bad. It depends on what the medicine is. Some things, like tablets, may be given orally popped right into the beak to swallow. B complex or some things may be crushed into water and given with a dropper or syringe. Others may be mixed into a little scrambled egg, liver wurst, cream cheese, or peanut butter. Canned cat food has been helpful to me.

 

[go-qoli-gwej]

What medicine are you trying to administer, and is it a pill or a liquid?

At the moment, I'm giving calcium citrate in the form of a crushed pill, but the question was meant to be more general.
The last hen I had to treat in this way took the crushed pill in a bit of egg yolk or mash easy-peasy every time, but the one I'm treating now has been a lot more picky. So far, green peas seem to be the winner.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

She can actually swallow the calcium citrate pill with no problem if you just place it in her beak. I didn't think so either until I saw video of chickens gulping down mice, whole! That little hole in the back of the throat is not for food, it's their airway. Pull down on her wattles to get her to open her beak and just pop the pill in.

 

[go-qoli-gwej]

She can actually swallow the calcium citrate pill with no problem if you just place it in her beak. I didn't think so either until I saw video of chickens gulping down mice, whole! That little hole in the back of the throat is not for food, it's their airway. Pull down on her wattles to get her to open her beak and just pop the pill in.

I personally haven't had any success with this method. Hopefully one day I will be confident enough in handling them that I can smoothly administer a pill or syringe directly, but have had a lot of trouble with it so far.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

I personally haven't had any success with this method. Hopefully one day I will be confident enough in handling them that I can smoothly administer a pill or syringe directly, but have had a lot of trouble with it so far.

I have a lot of trouble with pills too...usually I crush them and add them to the mash like I posted earlier. Hopefully something ends up working for you